“Wouldn’t you like to know? That’s a trade secret.”
“I do want to know. That’s why I asked.” He leaned his head back against the plush cushion of the chair. “I could use a sheik right now.”
I pretended to scrutinize him. “You might do for the sheik. He only likes the best of the best. Especially in the looks department.”
Light dawned in Drew’s eyes. “It didn’t work out because you don’t have the right equipment?”
“Smart too.” I thumped him in the forehead. “This actually might be a perfect match. You’re both in the same business, and I’m sure whatever you need is pocket change to him.”
“I’m desperate, but we’ll keep the sheik as a backup plan,” he said, drawing circles on my thigh.
“You sure? He’s a stunner. And charming. If I had to wager, I’d say he’s pretty good in the sack too.”
“That’s a bet I won’t take.” I smoothed the frown line that creased his forehead. “You never told me how you met him.”
“We were staying at the same hotel in London,” I said, as if it were nothing.
“I doubt they just let you up to his room.”
“I was next door. The hotel tried to move me, and I might have pitched a fit outside my door. He came out to see what was going on.” I shrugged.
“Wouldn’t he have security for that?” he asked skeptically.
“You’d think. But I later learned that his protective detail was only one of the things he lamented most about his life. His biggest fear was that his father would find out he preferred men over women.”
“And he just confessed all of that to you?” Drew angled his head, radiating disbelief.
“I’m easy to talk to,” I said defensively.
“Apparently.” He pulled me closer.
“How bad is it?” I asked, touching his cheek as I changed the subject.
“Well, my dear, in my quest for vengeance, I got careless.”
“You mean stupid?”
“Exactly. I bought an oil company that practically has no value. My father outsmarted me.” There was bitterness in his voice, but it was directed at himself.
“Do you want to know how Tamas caught on that I’d stolen the coin?” What was wrong with me? Why did I want to make Drew feel better? As if he wasn’t the only one in the club of those who did moronic things?
Somehow, we could both be honest with one another, and it felt good. I’d never admit my mistakes to anyone else, but Drew didn’t make me feel stupid about it. He probably would tell me I was an idiot, but that was different.
“I’d kind of like to get it off my chest.”
“Then shoot.”
“I watched him open his safe one night and memorized the code.” People were paranoid enough to get a safe, but they didn’t try all that hard to keep people out of it. Tamas was no exception. He’d practically told me the combination by allowing me to see it. “He went to work that morning, and the housekeeper was out shopping. I had no idea what I’d find, but when I saw that coin, it screamed jackpot. I swiped it and the paperwork, took a prolonged route to my storage unit in case anyone was following me, and stashed it there. I went to the spa on Tamas’s dime, and when I returned to his place, he was waiting. Somebody, in her haste, forgot to close the safe.”
“Rookie mistake,” he spoke against my ear, his tone lighter, which in turn made me feel lighter.
“You’re telling me.” I rolled my eyes.
“So he punched you in the face.”
“That’s about the sum of it. I don’t know why he didn’t believe that it wasn’t the housekeeper,” I said as if baffled.
“Does he have you on camera?”
“Nope. I always figure out the surveillance right off the bat. If it’s too sophisticated, I only take what’s given to me.”
“Smart, but I have to say, I’m surprised.”
“Why?”
“Because the more risk there is, the more tempted you are,” he said, totally right.
“I could say the same about you.”
He let out a long breath. “I bought a pipeline, put it in an LLC that traced back to my brother and sister-in-law so it would look like they stole the money to purchase it. While I was preoccupied, they figured it out, and now they’ve shored up the LLC so I can’t touch it.” He scrubbed a hand through his hair. “That pipeline was a gamble. I knew it. What I can’t figure out is why my family would take over the very thing that has caused me so much grief.”
“That’s something you’d have to ask them.” I folded my hands together over my stomach. “You said you wanted to sell the oil company, right?”
“Very much so.”
“Any chance your family would buy it back?”
He was quiet for a moment. I could practically hear his brain turning over a mile a minute. “You just might be onto something.”
Drew shifted so my spine was against the back cushion of the seat, and he straddled me.
“I thought you had bad knees?” I placed my hands on his abdomen, reveling in the feel of his muscles.
“Don’t worry about that, Tigress.” He covered my mouth with his. The hunger in his kiss took my breath away. Drew needed me, even if it was just to make him forget. I didn’t care what the reason was. When was the last time someone had needed me?
He lifted my arms above my head and tugged my shirt off. His tongue traced his bottom lip as he gazed at my bare breasts. “I’m going to spend a lot of time with these tonight.” Drew palmed them, massaging with a firm yet gentle hand. My head rolled back, and I briefly closed my eyes.
“You’ll get distracted,” I said, a challenge in my voice.
He plucked at one nipple, rolling it between his fingers until it peaked. “By what?”
“This.” I cupped his erection through his jeans, squeezing just enough to make him feel it.
He grazed his teeth against my taut nipple. With the heel of my hand, I rubbed up and down his length. As I increased the pressure, his suction on my nipple did the same.
He switched to my other breast, and I kept up a torturous pace. My hips rocked up of their own accord as he thrust against my palm.
“Damn you, devil woman.” His tongue darted out for a lick around my areola.
“I’ll stop,” I said.
When I removed my hand, he caught my wrist and pressed my palm against him. “Don’t you dare.”
His look had me rubbing him again. As much as I enjoyed teasing him, his jeans were in the way.
“You don’t sound happy,” I said as I fought to keep a straight face.
“Fine. You want to hear it?” His lips fluttered over the pulse point in my neck. My heart rate spiked. I felt for the button on his jeans. “You’re right.”
I stilled. “Am I dead? Is this heaven?”
His smirk turned me inside out. “Damn straight. I’m here, aren’t I?”
I pushed at his stomach. “I thought you were lavishing attention on my tits.”
“Since you were right about my dick overruling, I’m forced to cut it short.” He shoved off the back of the chair so he towered over me. “Show me that luscious ass.”
Without waiting for a response, he flipped me over like I was a rag doll. The chair was big enough that he easily positioned me on all fours. He bent over me, the cotton of his Henley shirt rubbing against my back.
“Why the hell were you sleeping with clothes on?” His voice was seduction in its purest form.
“As a barrier against you,” I shot back, though the rasp in my voice gave me away.
“You know how much I enjoy undressing my little fuck doll.” He traced my spine, then hooked his fingers in the waistband of my pajamas. He peeled them down until my ass was exposed. He drew a lazy pattern across both cheeks.
I looked over my shoulder to find Drew’s rapt attention on what he was doing. Sensing my gaze, he met it, his brown pools smoldering. He pressed his palms into my lower back, then slid them up to my shoulders.
I
moaned, his skilled touch almost too much. His mouth flirted with my ear once more, and I ground my ass against his cock. He cupped my breasts and positioned me so I was on my knees, my back flush with his front.
“How do you do it?” he asked, wrapping his hand around my neck.
“What?”
“Make me forget everyone else but you.” He crashed his mouth on mine.
His words were lightning. All my rules went out the window, and I kissed him like I’d never have the chance again. He reciprocated, everything around us dissipating until it was just the two of us and our desire.
“If you want my cock, beg for it.” He held me in place. I should’ve felt powerless but with Drew, I craved it.
“Is that any way to speak to my pussy?” I said against his lips.
“I was talking to your ass.” He banded one arm across my stomach, completely possessing me. “Say pretty please, Tigress,” he coaxed.
My sex clenched, my desire already coating my thighs. I was empty without him. His heat against my body wasn’t enough. “Fuck me like you mean it or don’t bother.”
“Close enough,” Drew said, shoving me back down on all fours.
I closed my eyes; the sound of his shirt coming off over his head painted a vivid image in my mind. My heart rate picked up, each breath I took long and labored as I impatiently waited. I wiggled my ass, earning a sharp smack on one cheek. Fire blazed down my thighs and up my spine.
I needed relief, the throbbing in my clit almost painful. Bracing myself on one arm, I slid a finger through my folds. I was swollen and wet. So damn wet.
A whimper escaped me, my finger picking up speed as it hummed against my clit. Drew settled over me, his thick cock nestled between my ass cheeks.
“If you want to get yourself off, then by all means.” He taunted me with his erection.
“You aren’t moving fast enough.”
“If you come, you can’t have my dick.” He gripped my hips, working his shaft between my cheeks. “How could I forget?” he mused, and I wanted to scream in frustration. “You want me to come all over you. Not in you.”
I bit back a moan, the thought of his semen hitting my back nearly sending me over the edge. But I needed him. “Please, Drew.”
“What was that?”
“I need you to fuck me.”
He moved my hand and entered me with one swift thrust. I screamed; the sound muffled by the chair cushion. His fingers dug into my hips, and I waited for him to move, expecting a thorough pounding from behind.
“This view. Do you know how beautiful you are filled with my cock?”
I arched my back, the praise making me glow. He withdrew, replacing his cock with two fingers. He plunged deep, swirling against my walls.
“More. I want more.”
“You want my fingers more than my dick?” he teased.
“Your cock. Give it to me.”
“Because you asked so nicely.”
Drew eased his swollen head between my lips. I cried out in relief when he pushed back inside. He increased his pace, an excruciating tease that had me hovering on the edge of climax.
When he pressed against the ring of tight muscle at my rear, I jerked my head to look over my shoulder. He pushed until his knuckle disappeared, and I clenched around it, though I wasn’t sure if I wanted the digit in or out.
Drew decided for me, fucking me so it only felt good when his finger was buried in my ass.
“You wanted more.” He was the picture of arrogance and power and sex. My pleasure was his. Raw desire etched his face.
I couldn’t take it anymore. My head dropped between my arms, my sex spasming with the onslaught of the orgasm. My walls clamped around his cock. My ass clenched his finger. My body refused to let him out, and I shuddered with the power of my climax.
Drew pumped a few more times before he pulled out. I looked in time to see him jack up and down his shaft. With a groan, he came, liquid splattering my back.
He pulled his finger out of my ass and massaged his desire into me.
“This is what you wanted. My come all over your skin.”
I couldn’t deny it. Watching him mark me turned me on like nothing else ever had.
“Touch my clit. Get me off with your dirty fingers,” I demanded.
He pulled me to my knees again, and my head fell back against his shoulder. I loved that he wasn’t afraid of his own come. It cemented us together as he strummed my clit and sent me over the edge again.
“We’re not taking a shower,” he said before I even came down from my high.
“You’re so filthy.” I tried to squirm out of his grasp, but he held me in place.
“That’s why we’re so good together, Tigress.”
God, how I hated he was right. So very right.
Chapter Thirty-Six
Drew
“This bed is more comfortable than yours.”
I rolled on top of Sonya after her declaration, loving the feel of her naked body against mine as she thrashed to get away.
“Get off me, you big oaf.”
“That’s not what you said a few hours ago.” Nope, not even close. She couldn’t get enough of me, same as I couldn’t get enough of her.
“That was my mistake.” She lifted her chin.
“I’ve made a lot of mistakes, and that definitely didn’t qualify as one.”
“If you’re going to lie on top of me, at least do something.”
I brushed her bottom lip with my thumb. “I don’t have time.”
I tumbled out of bed, bringing her with me, letting her go the second her feet were on the floor. She stumbled, shot me a withering look, and went straight into the bathroom, locking me out. I jiggled the doorknob a few times and then grinned, reaching up to feel along the top of the doorframe. As I suspected, there was a hidden pin, and in seconds, I had the lock undone and her stunned expression in view.
“How?”
I held up the pin, replacing it where I’d found it, and she let out a little growl. “You can’t keep me out.”
“I’m hiding that.”
“Makes no difference. We aren’t moving in here.”
I stepped into the shower, whistling “Got You (Where I Want You)” by The Flys, and turned on the taps. The initial cold blast of water sent a shock rolling through me.
“But can’t we?” Sonya whined, her hands sliding around my stomach from behind. “It’s so much nicer here. This shower.” She sighed into my back, resting her head against me.
The shower was nice. A walk-in built with some sort of expensive stone. A rainhead in the center. A detachable nozzle hanging on the wall. Even a bench to do whatever my imagination could conjure up to Sonya.
I spun her around, dunking her under the cold water. She yelped and pounded my back, but I didn’t budge until I felt the water warm.
“The problem with this shower is that there’s too much room,” I mused. “In ours, you’re always in my personal space.” I pushed her to the bench. “In this one, you’re already shivering without me to keep you warm.”
Her hand flew to her heart. “Wonders never cease.” Sonya fluttered her lashes at me. “Drew Carter, concerned about my well-being.”
“What?” I snorted. “Not yours, sugar. Mine.”
“Move out of the way.” She shoved me playfully out from under the spray, the water cascading down her body in a tantalizing way. “So how long is your sentence at Paths of Purpose?” Her eyes closed as she ran her hands over her hair.
“Indefinitely.”
Her eyelids popped open. “What are you going to do?”
“Today? I’m going to start working on making ‘peace’ with my family.”
“Would you like to practice your apology?”
“You don’t think a genuine heart-to-heart is in my repertoire?” I asked as if offended.
“No.” She lathered shampoo in her hair. “What did they do to you? How they treat you isn’t that bad, especially given what you did to
them. What made you so angry you’d try to fuck them all over?”
“I’m not sure anymore,” I confessed. Now that it all was done, the only thing I’d accomplished was screwing myself. It hadn’t been enough to steal that money. I’d been desperate to prove them wrong about the pipeline too. They weren’t, and my quest to demolish my father’s business had done far more damage to me than it had to him. “Mulaney. She started it all.”
“How?”
“From the time we were kids, my family has treated her as one of us.” I put my forehead against hers. “Then again, that’s what people from Burdett do.”
“Where?” She’d obviously never heard of the place because it was a bump in the road in the middle of nowhere Texas.
“It’s where Grandma Carter lives. Where Dad was raised. The Jacobs have been friends of ours since time began, I’m pretty sure.”
“I had no idea those kind of relationships were real,” she said, a little wonder in her voice.
“They’re very real.”
“That’s why Stone and Muriella let your brother live with them.” It sounded like dots were connecting in her mind.
“Mulaney’s his sister, so it’s kinda different, but even if she weren’t in the picture and Easton needed a place to stay, they’d let him. No questions asked.” Giving the shirt off one’s back wasn’t just a saying to the people of Burdett. It was a way of life. One I hadn’t adopted.
“I don’t get it. If you’re all friends, what’s the big deal about Mulaney?” She moved her hands from my chest to my shoulders, and I temporarily forgot the anger Mulaney incited in me every time I thought about her.
“The second she came to Carter Energy, she was a VP, just like me and Easton. My dad thinks she shits gold. Whatever she says is gospel.”
“Jealous much?”
“Wouldn’t you think he’d listen to his own son over her?” I exploded. “When he took a temporary leave as CEO, he named her as interim. Her. It should have been Easton. Or at the very least me. But Dad never even considered us. I know he didn’t.”
She cupped my cheeks. I tried to shake her off, unable to stand any kind of comfort, but she held firm. “I get why you’d be upset about that.”
Thick As Thieves: An Enemies-To-Lovers Romance (Paths To Love Book 5) Page 20